Next, we went back to the
cadence screen and dropped the
setting to 65, and suddenly the
result was very satisfying. You
simply pedal while the patented
NuVinci Continuously Variable
Planetary (CVP) technology
seamlessly changes ratios. As
soon as you pedal slower than
what you’ve set the cadence
at, the hub downshifts; if you
pedal faster, the hub upshifts.

Amazingly, we barely felt the
“shift”; it merely felt like the pedal
effort and speed were always
perfect. With a little more time to
experiment with different numbers
for the cadence, this should
make for a truly seamless ride
experience.

For our last test ride weheaded out on what we think wasa Haibike Trekking model withthe SRAM DD3 Pulse dual-driverear hub. The Bosch center-drivesystem supports a single, smallishfront sprocket (usually 18 teeth,but there are other options) thatrotates 2.5 times for every rotationof the cranks. With the DD3 Pulse,the rear hub provides 27 speedsin a single unit. There is a nine-speed cassette mounted on ahub with an electric internal three-speed.

Depending on the speed, the
internal hub automatically selects
one of three speeds. So if you
brake or slow on a hill, the hub
automatically downshifts. We
selected a middle cog on the
cassette and were able to ride
below 5 mph and pedal up to over

18 mph without ever shifting the
cassette. The internal-hub three-speed has fairly large gaps—
something like the three rings on
the crank of a normal 27-speed—
so you feel the shifts. You are
free to make manual adjustments
to the derailleur at all times.

The combination of the internal
hub and the cassette gives a
wide range of gear ratios while
only dealing with one shifter. Of
course, if the terrain is mild, you
can pick a cog on the cassette
and not shift manually at all.

As with most of the new
bikes and products we test rode
at PressCamp, we’re looking
forward to getting them rolled into
the well-lit, palatial RBA offices
so we can test them in our own
conditions. ■

While riding the Bosch/Nuvinci, you merely
find the correct cadence setting for your
riding style and forget about shifting.

This small unit handles all of the internal shifting,
though you can chose to shift manually. A Gates belt
instead of a chain is an option.